FLINT, MI — A Michigan man will spend decades in prison for fatally running over a groomsman on his own wedding day.
The incident happened Aug. 30, 2024, at a home in the 1400 block of East Hamilton in Flint during the wedding, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said 24-year-old James Shirah intentionally hit 29-year-old Terry Lewis Taylor Jr. with an SUV during an argument just hours after Shirah married Savanah Collier.
Taylor was seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died, according to prosecutors.
Shirah was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He later pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, driving without a license causing death and failure to stop at the scene of a crash resulting in death.
He was sentenced to 30-45 years in prison on Monday.
Shirah told the court that killing Taylor "was not intentional" but that he has accepted "full responsibility" for his actions.
"The only thing I can do for the rest of my life is express my apology and remorse … I will forever be sorry," Shirah said.
Prosecutors, however, said Shirah had been drinking throughout the day when he began arguing with Taylor at a home where family and friends were celebrating the wedding, according to an Associated Press report.
They said Shirah left the scene in an SUV before quickly returning and striking Taylor, who was in the street in front of the house.
"I’ve never seen anything quite like this," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said. "I’ve seen people running over other people, but not so soon after a wedding."
Prosecutors did not say what Shirah and Taylor were arguing over.
Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Khary Hanible told him, "I believe that you are not a criminal. You are, however, a killer."
Shirah’s wife will be sentenced later in May for being an accessory, which is a felony.
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